I'm Just Moving Uncomfortably Slow
by SqueakyTheDuck
Summary: Sarah's thoughts on life after the Doctor. Songfic. Set to Newton Faulkner's 'Uncomfortably Slow'. Slight Harry/Sarah.


**A/N: I wrote this around midnight/one AM-ish. I've had the idea for this fic ever since I first heard the song a few weeks ago. Finally sat down and wrote it. A short, sad songfic from Sarah Jane's perspective. All about life back on earth. And there's hints of Harry/Sarah along the way, too.  
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Sarah Jane turned as the familiar wheezing sounds of the TARDIS signaled its departure from the street and from her life. She watched as the great blue box faded from view.

_Traveling again_

_I know exactly how it's gonna end_

_The routine day dream starts as I get off_

After a moment's time spent looking round, she realized she wasn't anywhere near her home. She hadn't enough money on her to pay for public transportation, but she had just enough to make a phone call.

She dialed the number almost without thinking. As a friend and fellow TARDIS traveler, Harry was the only one who would really understand. And he did. And he traveled over five hundred miles from London to Aberdeen, making the entire trip in one day, just to help her get home.

And when she did get home, it was all so mundane, all so….so _normal_. Earth just couldn't compare to the universe.

Everything was so ordinary. As she would one day reflect, years later, "Electric bills, burst pipes, bus tickets, and rain." They were all a part of life again.

Little things annoyed her. Mundane things.

_I'm holding up the queue_

_Because my ticket won't go through_

_I know it should be simple but it's not_

She traveled. She went all over the UK, and abroad, but it just wasn't there. That feeling of fulfillment she'd had while with the Doctor was missing during these travels across the globe. Earth suddenly felt very small, and time became slow and sluggish as one day faded into the next.

_So don't take my photograph_

_Cos I don't wanna know how it looks_

_To feel like this_

_As cars and people pass_

_It feels like standing still but I know_

_I'm just moving uncomfortably slow _

Every time she returned home, she was unable to shake the feeling that she hadn't really accomplished anything on her trip. Finally she gave up trying to recreate that old sense of adventure and focused more on her work at home. It was a good life. She chased after stories locally. She lived near enough to visit her Aunt Lavinia once or twice a week.

Harry came round quite a lot. Sarah was annoyed by it at first. She resented his continued presence as a constant reminder of the time the two of them spent with the Doctor.

But he was a good friend nonetheless, always ready with a cheerful smile and an optimistic word to lift her when she was down. Still she was restless.

_Something's gotta change_

_I know I'm lucky in a lot of ways_

_So why do I want more_

_Than what I have? _

She went to social events. Her reputation as a journalist got her into some highly regarded circles.

She didn't belong. These people with their fancy dress and brandy glasses and sparkling white teeth that showed when they laughed in that sophisticated, arrogant manner—they had such a narrow view of the world. So unlike her. She had seen the _universe_!

She wore the dress. She spoke the lingo. She faked the smile.

_Brace myself to hear the lies_

_I wonder if they know that I_

_Don't get the jokes but I just_

_Need to laugh_

Days faded into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Months gave way to years. Still she saw no sign of the Doctor. Time rolled slowly on.

_So don't take my photograph_

_Cos I don't wanna know how it looks_

_To feel like this_

_As cars and people pass_

_It feels like standing still but I know_

_I'm just moving uncomfortably slow_

They talked about it a lot. Sarah and Harry sometimes sat outside under the stars and talked for hours about their travels in the TARDIS, about the Doctor, about adjusting to life back on earth…

Harry had no problem with it. He liked earth. There was adventure to be found here too, he insisted. Over time he began to show her just that, and things became a little easier.

_I'm just moving uncomfortably_

_Slow down_

_There's infinite detail_

_When you break it down_

_It all becomes simple how_

_It all becomes clearer now_

And then he was gone too. His death was sudden and unexpected. Too late she realized that Harry had been her strength, her anchor, through all of this. And now she would have to go it alone once again.

_So don't take my photograph_

_Cos I don't wanna know how it looks_

_To feel like this_

_As cars and people pass_

_It feels like standing still but I know_

_I'm just moving sub-consciously_

_One day I guess I'll be_

_The person you think you see_

_I'm just moving uncomfortably_

_Slow. _


End file.
